


Years and Years

by ahsokatano



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Bisexual Dean, Destiel - Freeform, Eventual Relationships, F/M, Hurt Castiel, Kid Castiel/Kid Dean Winchester, Kid Fic, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Protective Dean, Supernatural - Freeform, but then i was like hey this could work for destiel too, so here it is, this was originally for my ocs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 07:19:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5618095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahsokatano/pseuds/ahsokatano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is eight years old when he moves in next to Dean Winchester.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Years and Years

**_eight._ **

Castiel is eight years old when he moves in next to Dean Winchester.

A nice lady who introduces herself as Mary Winchester brings over a plate of brownies two days after the Novaks move in.

They’re the best brownies Castiel has ever tasted.

Dean Winchester is in the class two doors down from Castiel’s. He has messy, dirty blond hair and is tall for a third grader. Castiel sometimes sees him playing soccer with the other boys during recess. 

Castiel doesn’t like to play at recess with the other kids. He’s perfectly content with reading.

It does get lonely sometimes, though.

Two weeks after his family has moved in, Dean sits down next to him on the bus. Castiel’s surprised. No one has even spoken to him since he moved here.

“I’m Dean Winchester,” Dean announces, and then he points at the book he’s reading. “You’re always reading. What’s your book about?”

Castiel beams, and begins to tell Dean all about the fictional world of _Harry Potter_. Dean looks genuinely interested in what Castiel saying. It makes Castiel feel comfortable around him.

They’re friends, after that.

 

**_nine._ **

Castiel is nine years old, and most of his afternoons are spent with Dean Winchester.

They spend most of their time doing homework at each others’ houses or playing Mario Kart. Dean is funny and nice, and Castiel is always laughing when he’s around him. Dean doesn’t make fun of Castiel when he talks about his favorite books, like the kids at his old school used to do. He asks questions about the books, and eventually starts the _Harry Potter_ series himself.

Dean starts to call Castiel “Cas”, because “Castiel is real complicated, and ‘Cas’ is so much cooler.” 

Castiel comes to endear the nickname very much.

Dean is Castiel’s favorite person in the world. 

Dean has a little brother named Sam. When he isn’t talking about the latest video game, he’s talking about Sam.

Sam is Dean’s favorite person in the world. Castiel tries very hard not to be jealous. 

 

**_ten._ **

Castiel is ten, and Dean Winchester is his best friend.

They make it official at the beginning of the summer, not too long after their 5th grade graduation. They sat on a bench in the park, watching the sun set after riding around town on their bikes. 

“Hey, Cas?” 

“Yes, Dean?”

“Do y’think we’ll stay friends in middle school?” 

Castiel turns to him. “Duh,” he says, wondering why Dean would think otherwise. “Best friends forever.” 

Dean grins widely. “Promise?”

Castiel rolls his eyes, smiling, and sticks out his pinkie. “Promise.” 

Castiel feels a bubble of warmth in his chest as they lock pinkies. 

It’s nice.

 

**_eleven._ **

Castiel is eleven years old when he and Dean start middle school. 

Sixth grade brings more homework and less time for watching sunsets. Dean joins the soccer team and Castiel joins Chess club. He stays late for practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Dean waits for him so they can take the bus together. Castiel waits for Dean on Mondays and Wednesdays when he has soccer practice.

Sometimes Dean talks about the girls on the cheerleading squad. He talks about their hair and what they smell like and what it would be like to kiss one.

Castiel likes girls. They’re nice and pretty and one named Hannah is his friend from Chess club. But he doesn’t think he likes them the same way Dean does. 

(When he thinks about kissing, he thinks of candy apple green eyes and soft, messy blonde hair.)

 

**_twelve._ **

Castiel is twelve years old, and he feels numb.

He can’t tell if it’s from the cold or from the inability to feel emotion as he watches the casket with Mary Winchester’s body in it be lowered into the ground. His suit is tight and itchy, and he wants to rip it up and burn it. 

Dean doesn’t cry at the funeral. He does cry, however, into Castiel’s chest hours after. He cries and cries and cries, and Castiel holds Dean, silent tears making their way down his own face. 

“You’re not alone, Dean,” Castiel murmurs, sniffing. “You’re not alone.” 

There’s a piece of Castiel that stays numb forever after that.

 

**_thirteen._ **

Castiel is thirteen years old when he has his first kiss.

It’s at a birthday party, in some closet, with a boy. The wall is cold against Castiel’s back, the boy’s tongue warm in his mouth. It’s nice. Castiel likes it.

He tries very hard not to imagine that it’s Dean’s fingers playing at his waistband.

 

**_fourteen._ **

Castiel is fourteen years old when he comes home with a black eye.

It took longer than expected to wash out the sharpie-written _fag_ that had been on his locker at the end of the day. And if that wasn’t enough, a group of upperclassmen football players thought it would be fun to beat up the gay freshman. 

Dean was seething when he saw the ice bag over Cas’s eye, and vowed to kill whoever had done it to him. It ends with a fight when Castiel tries to convince Dean that it was no big deal and he just has to ignore them. 

Castiel decides that high school sucks.

 

**_fifteen._ **

 

Castiel is fifteen years old when Dean is dating Lisa Braedon.

Lisa is perfect. She’s funny, she’s smart, she’s on the cheerleading squad, she’s sweet and she’s nice and _oh my god she’s just perfect_.

And that’s just the goddamn problem.

Castiel can’t help but _like_ Lisa, no matter how much he wants to hate her for taking his best friend from him. Dean doesn’t wait for Castiel after Chess club anymore. He doesn’t sit with him at lunch, either. Dean sits with Lisa and Benny and Jo, with the soccer players and the cheerleaders.

Castiel sits with Charlie and Kevin, friends he made in Chess club and Algebra II. They’re great friends, and Castiel very much enjoys hanging out with them, but he can’t help but miss the presence of a certain green-eyed soccer player.

 

**_sixteen._ **

Castiel is sixteen years old when he realizes that he’s in love with Dean.

They’re sitting on Castiel’s basement floor in their pajamas, playing yet another Mario Kart tournament. It’s the first one they’ve had in a while, between soccer games and Chess matches and girlfriends.

Castiel is so close to winning. He’s in first place, with Dean on his tail. He can see the finish line on the screen—

—and he slips on a banana peel.

“No!” He cries just as Dean crows, “Yes!” 

Dean whoops as he crosses the finish line. Castiel pouts, crossing his arms. Dean is beaming and laughing like a madman as he bathes in victory.

Nothing is different. Everything is normal. Except this time, when that bubble of warmth opens in Castiel’s chest, he understands.

Oh.

_Oh._

And suddenly, it all makes sense— the loneliness when Dean isn’t around. The rage when Castiel caught him making out with Lisa. The relief when Dean and Lisa broke up. The need to make Dean smile. The small touches, like long hugs and fingers brushing. The half-formed idea of faces moving closer, noses brushing— 

Castiel throws down his controller and runs from the room, up the stairs and outside to his backyard. The crisp fall air feels like a cold punch to the gut, and Castiel can feel himself starting to hyperventilate.

_Oh god._

 

**_eighteen._ **

Castiel is eighteen years old, and he still feels like a child.

Senior year feels like it began yesterday, as cliché as it sounds. Castiel was accepted into Stanford, one of the best law schools in the country, on a full ride. It was pretty far from home, in California. Dean, on the other hand, was headed to Kansas University.

After graduation, Dean hugs Castiel tightly. Castiel laughs weakly, trying to pull himself together. 

“I’m scared, Dean,” he admits quietly. 

Dean raises an eyebrow. “Of?” 

“Losing you.” 

Dean doesn’t laugh. He grabs Castiel’s hand, twisting their pinkies together. 

“Forever, remember?” He reminds him. “We’ve stuck together since third grade, Novak. You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon.”

Castiel smiles weakly. “Okay.”

Dean pulls Castiel close, hugging him tight.

 

**_nineteen._ **

Castiel is nineteen years old, and college is kicking his ass.

He loves every minute of it, don’t get him wrong. His professors are actual law _geniuses._ He’s a writer on the college paper, a leading member of debate and Chess club, and so far has almost perfect grades in all his classes. 

He and Dean skype everyday, often enough that they know each other’s roommates almost better than they know people at their own schools. 

When Castiel meets Dean’s roommate, a guy named Gordon Walker, for the first time, Gordon grins and says, “So _you’re_ the boyfriend. He never shuts up about you.” 

Castiel stifles laughter as Dean turns scarlet and tries to beat Gordon with a pillow.

 

**_nineteen and a half._ **

Castiel is nineteen and a half years old, and the first semester of college is over.

He isn’t even home for three hours before he hears pebbles hitting his room window. He opens it to see Dean standing outside. 

“Real cute, Winchester. Have we succumbed to Shakespeare now?” 

Dean throws a rock at him, and he has to duck to avoid getting hit. He grins and closes the window, heading downstairs. 

They lay on the grass in Dean’s backyard, watching the stars light up the dark night sky. 

“I missed you,” Dean grins, bumping their shoulders together 

Castiel turns, meeting his gaze. Dean’s smile is suddenly gone, a solemn look on his face.

Their first kiss is quiet, gentle. Dean’s palm is against Castiel’s cheek, Castiel’s fingers tracing the line of Dean’s collarbone.

Above their heads, constellations dance.

 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr at @ahsokhatano !!


End file.
